Friday, March 27, 2015

Hello! It's Design Team member Apryl with you today. I think that having handmade cards on hand are always a plus. Graphic 45 Precious Memories I Really Want It All Bundle offers a lot of goodies for making cards for all those baby occasions that come up: showers, births, announcements. The bundle includes the 8x8 paper pad and the 6x6 paper pad which are perfect for card makers.

This appears to be an envelope with a card coming out of the top. But in fact it is all part of the card. I made it so from the front, it appears that way, but it really a mock envelope. I attached a heart to the and embellished with the look of paper ribbon bows and a sheer ribbon tied in a bow at the center.

This is a really cute and simple card. And of course, it would be complete with out a little stickling. I used blue distressed Stickles to outline the heart and diamond Stickles to add some sparkle to the flowers in the bottom right hand corner, paper ribbon and the "Welcome" in the "Welcome Little One" sentiment at the top of the card.

The color scheme is a mixture of blues and pinks, so this card can be used for either a boy or a girl. Baby Shower, New Arrival, Birth Announcement? I think this would work for any of those. If you like what you see and want to try it for yourself, or you've been inspired to create your own style of cards using this collection, you can find Graphic 45 Precious Memories at FotoBella.com.

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Hello FotoBella fans! It's Apryl with FotoBella design team with you today. Have you been to the Circus lately? We took our kids to the Circus for the first time about a year ago. So, how happy was I that the latest I Want It All Bundle I received from FotoBella was Bo Bunny Carnival! Ok, yes, it's called "Carnival" but there is plenty of Circus theme stuff in it.

I really had a tough time deciding what to use from this bundle because it's all so great. I wanted to keep it bright and fun. The blue and orange color scheme went perfect with these two photos of the tent entrance and the Ring Master's grand intro. There's a lot in this layout, so be sure to spy all the fun details.

There's some great glittered chipboard pieces like the big top, and pieces in the Ephemera package never disappoint. That's where the large blue gem is from and the playing cards. I cut some of the film strip for a banner effect behind the "Welcome to the Show".

Thanks for stopping by today for some Circus fun. There's more to come I assure you. Hope you have a fabulous day!

Monday, March 23, 2015

Happy Day to each of you. Today I wanted to share a quick tutorial of how to create fun monogram letters. I created this one for my mother-in-law using the Graphic 45 Artisan Style Bundle. It is really easy.

I started with a plain wood letter. I selected a B but you could do anything. I then painted the back side black.

I then traced the letter onto the paper I wanted to use.

Then cut the paper out and attached it to the front side of the letter. I then added some paint around the edges to finish it off a little.

Then selected some of the embellishments from the line to create clusters on opposite sides.

For
this focal piece you can either use a wood shape or a chipboard piece. I chose
a wood piece. Grab the Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Gathered Twigs.

Smudge
the distress ink around the wood, heavier on the edges and lighter in the
center.

With
a stamp shape of your choice, stamp the full wood piece. Remember the ink will
spread in the wood grain, so the details will slightly get lost.

Cut
the Family word out of the Lifetime Page and grab the Camera Rub-On. I secured
these with ModPodge.

Set this aside to dry.

Now
to start the page. Find 2 pictures you love and cut them 6.5” x 5” and 4” x 4”.
Pull out the Anthology Page.

With
the Ancestors Page, mat the images. I secured mine with double sided tape.

Pull
out a string of Jute, and cut longer then the length of the page. Lay on the
left side of the page, and place embellishments as you like them.

Cut
this little piece out of the Keys Page. Spray with water, scrunch, and then rub
the Gathered Twigs Ink pad over it slightly. Give it a worn look. Set aside to
dry

Grab
your custom wood décor, Ephemera Ribbon, Chipboard Stickers and Buttons. Place them
at the bottom right side of the layout, under the images. Once you have them
laid out as you like, secure them with your hot glue gun.

In
the top left-hand corner, measure 1” in, and slightly down from the top. Punch
a small hole and thread the Jute through to the back. Secure the tail to the
back of the page with tape or glue.

Find
the ‘Story’ Chipboard Sticker, and stick it to the top of the left side of the
page, covering the hole where the Jute has gone through.

Grab this paper piece that
you had set aside to dry, some brown ink and a letter stamp. With a few sticker
and paper flags, secure those to the page under the Jute. Then, with double
sided tape, secure the paper piece, and stamp the letter on top of it.

Cut
out this “Love” from the Roots Page, and punch 2 small holes in it as shown in
the image. Thread the Jute through the holes and place it in the location you
prefer. Secure a paper flag under it, and then tape the “Love” piece down. I
added the Family Chipboard Sticker on top of them as well.

Thread
the Jute through the holes of the Leaf Chipboard Sticker and press into the
paper. With a hot glue gun, secure the flower to the page and add a Jewel to
the center. Add the Memories Chipboard Sticker below that and while the hot glue
gun is still hot, secure some colored buttons below.

Punch
a small hole at the bottom of the page, just as you did to the top. Thread the
Jute through and tape it down on the back of the page.

You can go back through the page and add jewels or other embellishments.